One of the biggest
problems young girls and women face today is the expectation placed upon them
to look “perfect.” With the media pushing unrealistic body images through
heavily altered photos and videos, girls are constantly facing pressure to be
thinner, resulting in major insecurities by the time they reach middle school.
Just imagine how serious this matter gets by the time these girls reach high
school! Thankfully, four Girl Scouts from York, Pennsylvania Troop 20033 took a
stand to shed light on this troubling issue.

The Girl
Scouts—Gillian DeWit, 16, and Madison Reinsel, Maria Hilbert, and Sarah
Philbin, all 15—were honored recently with the Senior Visionary Award for their
project, which shed light on how the media affects girls' body images and
encourages other young girls to celebrate their bodies rather than compare them
unfavorably to what they see in magazines and on television and the Internet.

The project
requires Girl Scouts to develop an artistic representation of their ideal
world, for which Troop 20033 made a 16-minute film, "The Perception."

They
conducted research for the short film by interviewing students from Stevenson
University and other Girl Scouts about their perceptions of the relationship
between the media and body image. They found that, while young adults are aware
of how much photos in the media are altered, young girls aren't.

The girls
had one of their first opportunities to make a difference when, inspired by
their research findings, they hosted a body image workshop for fourth- and
fifth-grade girls.

"Even
though the media is changing girls' perceptions, there is still time to turn it
around and make people see their self-worth," Madison said of her project.

To fulfill
the service portion of the project, Troop 20033 volunteered at New Life for
Girls, a residential nonprofit that helps restore self-worth in women
recovering from addiction and other life-controlling issues. The girls also
held a movie night and bonfire—complete with s'mores, a campfire sing-along,
and a discussion on the benefits of being a Girl Scout—for the women's
children.

"Volunteering
was the most rewarding part," Maria said. "We were helping others and
making their lives better. It is what Girl Scouts is about."

The girls became
role modelsfor younger girls in their community, and they
had more advice to share after they finished the project.

"Don't
be afraid to try new things and be the biggest person you can be," Gillian
said regarding her award.

The award is
available to ninth- and tenth-graders whose projects present real-life
opportunities to make a positive difference in other girls' lives. Congratulations
to the girls of Troop 20033 for planting the seed of positive body imaging, thus
earning the Senior Visionary Award and impacting the lives of many young girls.

We're 2.5 million strong—more than 1.7 million girls and 750,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ to change the world. Since 1912, we’ve built girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.